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The Chase Sapphire Reserve card has a lot going for it, not least of which is its awesome 100,000 point signup bonus. Soon, however, the bonus will be cut in half. As of January 12th for online applications and March 12th for in-branch applications, the Sapphire Reserve bonus will drop to 50,000 points after $4,000 spend.
Those who have opened 5 or more accounts in the past 24 months have had better success in getting approved by going in-branch, so for many this is a 3+ month warning. Those without a local Chase branch, though, will have to apply online no later than January 11th.
More about the Chase Sapphire Reserve…
The Sapphire Reserve is my current top pick for a travel rewards credit card. It does have a steep annual fee, but its benefits far outweigh the fee:
- Standard Signup Bonus: 100,000 points after $4K spend (limited time!)
- $300 in annual travel credits automatically applied to account for travel purchases charged to card
- Points worth 1.5 cents each when used to purchase travel
- Earn 3X points per dollar for travel and dining; 1X elsewhere
- Airport Lounge Access via Priority Pass Select with unlimited free guests
- Primary car rental collision damage waiver
- Rental car privileges and discounts
- Global Entry or TSA Pre Fee Credit
- No foreign transaction fee
- Points transferable 1 to 1 to selected airline and hotel programs
Those who travel often will have no trouble earning $300 per year in travel reimbursements. In that case, the effective annual fee is really just $150. That’s not bad at all for a card that offers 3X points for travel & dining, 1.5 cents per point redemption value, and airport lounge access!
I recommend pairing this card with the no-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited which earns 1.5X everywhere, and the no-fee Business Ink Cash which earns 5X in select categories. Points from both no-fee cards can be moved to your Sapphire Reserve account in order to make them more valuable.
Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed as follows:
- Cash or merchandise (1 cent per point value)
- Purchase Travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel site (1.5 cents per point value)
- Transfer to a variety of airline and hotel programs (per point value varies from very low to extremely high when points are used this way)
See also
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Complete Guide
- How to get approved for the Sapphire Reserve 100K offer [NEW]
- Your Sapphire Reserve Card arrived. Here’s what to do next…
- The Sapphire Reserve Couple Conundrum
- Chase point transfer rules made simple [Infographic]
Hat Tip: The Points Guy
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[…] The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a great card. Unfortunately, the sign up bonus has dropped from the previous monster 100K offer down to a mere-mortal 50K Ultimate Rewards points. That’s still a great signup bonus […]
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I don’t have a chase branch near me, but i figure its worth driving a few hours for the 50k in points. Will they let me apply in branch even if I don’t have a chase checking account and if I don’t live in the state?
I believe so, but I’d highly recommend calling the branch before you make the drive!
[…] I’m sure you know, we had expected the online 100K offer for the Sapphire Reserve to drop to 50K today (January 12th 2017). At the moment, though, the online offer for the Sapphire Reserve is still […]
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[…] they launched it with an amazing bonus. All good things must come to an end though. According to Frequent Miler, the online bonus on this card will drop from 100,000 points down to 50,000 points on January 12. […]
[…] The frequent miler reports, starting January 12 the online signup bonus for Chase Sapphire Reserve is dropping to 50,000 ultimate rewards point. The signup bonus of 100,000 will still be available until March 12 if you sign up for the card in a Chase Bank branch. Please note you need to be a Chase Banking customer to sign up for the card in a Chase Bank branch location […]
I think that 5/24 is dead. I have 12 Chase cards and when I go into my account and look at my pre-approved cards, I am pre-approved for 12 more cards including Chase Ink Preferred. I already have a Chase Ink card.
How do you know it will drop to 50k? Source? Temporary or permanent?
Chase gave the info to The Points Guy. I expect that it’s permanent but I wouldn’t be surprised to see temporary bumps in the offer at times in the future.
I am at 5/24 right now until 3/21!!! Ugh….
I wanted to post FYI I have been waiting to apply for the CSR card until I was under the 5/24 rule I have 3 cards that will expire 1/12/17 , 1/13/17 and the last was 1/21/17 I was going to apply in Feb. for a card then the news hit that the bonus offer would change I was unsure if the 5/24 rule went by day or month decided to give it a try and was instantly approved , super excited!!!!
That’s great!
Will they still charge $450 annual fee?
Yes
I have been holding off on applying because I am over 5/24. I don’t have Chase branches in my state so online is my only option. Don’t want to miss out on this 100,000 point bonus. Trying to figure out if it is worth taking a risk of having a hard hit on my credit with a denial for the card on the off chance I might get approved and get the 100k bonus. Any thoughts or advice?
Personally I think it is well worth the risk. Hard inquiries don’t have long lasting effects.
I’m at 4/24 but heard that Ink Preferred (business cards in general) don’t count towards the 5/24 rule. Am I better offer applying for the Ink right now and then the CSR in branch sometime closer to March? I’m hesitant to wait until November, when my cards start dropping off of my X/24, for the Ink in case the signup bonus also gets lowered.
I think you’d have a good shot if you went ahead and signed up for the Ink Preferred AND the Sapphire Reserve now since you are under 5/24. The only risk is that if the Sapphire Reserve is approved, but not the Ink Preferred, then you would have trouble trying again with the Ink later. If you’re worried about that, then your plan would work fine too (e.g. go for the Ink now and the Sapphire Preferred later, in branch).
Thanks so much for replying! I think I’m going to go for both at once since I’m under 5/24 right currently. You advice as well as others suggest that applying for two in the same day might work and I value the Sapphire Reserve more at the moment. I’ll report back later this week.
Just to follow up with some data points if others are searching. I did apply for CSR and Ink Preferred back to back at 4/24. Immediately approved for CSR and Ink Preferred went pending.
Didn’t have high enough tutoring revenue for the business card and recon attempts were unsuccessful. The first lady was extremely pleasant when reviewing and asked all of the expected business related questions. Her main concern was my total Chase CL vs my total income (I already have the Freedom and Freedom). I thanked her, hung up, lowered some of the credit limits immediately following and called back the next day. This rep was not friendly or pleasant at all from the initial reference number request so I didn’t even bother having her reconsider. Tried one more time the following day and this rep was short and pretty intent on only having me give one word answers to his questions. Ended up denying me with business revenue reasoning…
So I turned around and opened the Sapphire Preferred and was immediately approved. I’m guessing lowering my credit limit to attempt the Ink recon helped, and that the CSR hasn’t hit my report yet so I’m still considered 4/24. I was worried about the 2/30 rule since the prior applications were only two weeks ago but the Ink denial may have helped there.
Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
Thanks for the follow up info SB!
Great tip, thanks. I am in the midst of getting my sign up bonus and almost done. We were going to delay the sign up for my wife, but now I am asking her to sign up today. Our “nearest” chase branch is over an hour away.